By now most of India is familiar with the universal tool that is in great demand. You guessed it right, it is the Broom stick. Since we live in a world full of vacuum cleaners in different shapes and sizes, auto and manual, most of you may not even be aware of what a Broom stick is.
Leaving that aside, once you are able to identify a tree, the trick is to catch hold of someone who specializes in the art of climbing a tree. He would charge you X rupees for climbing up and coming down. Obviously, you cannot bargain with him about paying only half-of-it since your objective is for him to climb up and you are not really interested in having him come down. So once the price is negotiated, he has this 2-S shaped rope that is somehow joined together to make it look like an & (an ampersand). He will put each foot through both the loops (yeah, I saw it coming, the smartness in you. Yes, the person has to have two functionally working legs that are almost same in length for this to work) and places it firmly on the trunk. He also has a loop with a locking mechanism clasping him to the tree and voila, he starts climbing. So, he goes up, and cuts the branches. You sun it for a while and then, peel apart each leaf and skin them, leaving a long thin stick. You combine a bunch of them and tie it with a rope and there you are. You get a broom that is easy to use and which can clean, all things in all colors.
The Broom, which has been in use, ever since man knew how to puke, has been handed over from generation to generation. The manufacturing of a broom stick is a lengthy process. It is made from a dried branch of a Coconut tree, which is very prevalent in the coastal districts of India, mostly the Southern part. As you know Coconut tree grow really really tall. How tall is really tall? As far as I see it, if you cannot lift your left hand and touch the branch, it should be considered as tall and most of American Basketball players fit this bill.
Leaving that aside, once you are able to identify a tree, the trick is to catch hold of someone who specializes in the art of climbing a tree. He would charge you X rupees for climbing up and coming down. Obviously, you cannot bargain with him about paying only half-of-it since your objective is for him to climb up and you are not really interested in having him come down. So once the price is negotiated, he has this 2-S shaped rope that is somehow joined together to make it look like an & (an ampersand). He will put each foot through both the loops (yeah, I saw it coming, the smartness in you. Yes, the person has to have two functionally working legs that are almost same in length for this to work) and places it firmly on the trunk. He also has a loop with a locking mechanism clasping him to the tree and voila, he starts climbing. So, he goes up, and cuts the branches. You sun it for a while and then, peel apart each leaf and skin them, leaving a long thin stick. You combine a bunch of them and tie it with a rope and there you are. You get a broom that is easy to use and which can clean, all things in all colors.
So, why is the sudden importance for the broom? Well, if you observe the political situation in India, you would realize that at the capital New Delhi, a new party Aam Admi Party (AAP) is running the Government. And, what is so unique about this party? It is their symbol which is the infamous BROOM.
Ever since the party got launched formally, there has been a spurt in inflation numbers in India.The Govt of India's supercomputers, working in tandem with the Reserve bank of India could not determine why the spike was.
On a closer analysis, you can easily attribute this to the rise of AAP. Why? It is because of their symbol, the Broom. The party got launched and there were so many volunteers from so many walks of life, lawyers, Chief executives, business heads... all hunting for a broom that they could carry with them while going on a door-to-door campaign. This sudden spurt in demand for broom opened up a great business opportunity for people who trade in brooms. These are specialized brooms remember? Not made of plastic but should be made from coconut tree branches. These are available mostly in the Southern part of India, there was a sudden flurry of economic activity in the South. The tree climbers were in demand, along with the trees themselves, not necessarily in that order and the blacksmiths, the knife sharpeners, laborers, rope manufacturers.... You see the scale of this now, don't you.
The brooms were made and they had to be shipped to North India and for most people in South India, North India is somewhere out there, North of where North is. So, it is really really far away which means transportation is involved. More economic activity. By now, the Economist brain in you must have ignited and you must have realized that the Broom starts getting a royal treatment. It is no longer used for cleaning but as an attire. Like the Police and military men carrying artillery, you have the AAP volunteers carrying lot of broom sticks with them going on a campaign. This naturally increased the prices of broom sticks in North and South. Servant maids working in household were stuck with older Brooms because the newer ones were unavailable or extremely expensive. If they use the older brooms, they take 3 times more time than what they normally take to clean a home free of dirt. So they were demanding more wages because they were stuck with older brooms. Rather than doing household work, they are now thinking of alternate opportunities, yes, with the BMI (Broom manufacturing industry). So their extra pay demands were met with, translating into more cash in hand, which they used to buy essential things like talcum powder, lip stick and nail polish creating a spiralling demand for those products. Voila.. you have inflation now, galloping at a pace that neither the Govt nor the Reserve bank could deal with!!
The brooms were made and they had to be shipped to North India and for most people in South India, North India is somewhere out there, North of where North is. So, it is really really far away which means transportation is involved. More economic activity. By now, the Economist brain in you must have ignited and you must have realized that the Broom starts getting a royal treatment. It is no longer used for cleaning but as an attire. Like the Police and military men carrying artillery, you have the AAP volunteers carrying lot of broom sticks with them going on a campaign. This naturally increased the prices of broom sticks in North and South. Servant maids working in household were stuck with older Brooms because the newer ones were unavailable or extremely expensive. If they use the older brooms, they take 3 times more time than what they normally take to clean a home free of dirt. So they were demanding more wages because they were stuck with older brooms. Rather than doing household work, they are now thinking of alternate opportunities, yes, with the BMI (Broom manufacturing industry). So their extra pay demands were met with, translating into more cash in hand, which they used to buy essential things like talcum powder, lip stick and nail polish creating a spiralling demand for those products. Voila.. you have inflation now, galloping at a pace that neither the Govt nor the Reserve bank could deal with!!
How to tackle it now? The only way to overcome this inflation is to import Broom sticks from outside of India from countries like China. China, has already sensed a great business opportunity to manufacture brooms and export it to India and Pakistan. Indian Govt is seriously considering levying a heavy duty on such imports, next only to Gold. Already talks are underway with the agriculturists in South India to stop growing Paddy and start growing Coconut trees as it gives them a great revenue opportunity. The central govt is also setting up a dedicated ministry for Coconut trees and a Welfare development board for both the trees and the growers.
Last I heard, AAP is considering reducing the number of sticks that they use within a Broom to help overcome the current crisis but that remains to be seen.
PS: Heard on the news that AAP is going national in the next 2 days. The need for broom sticks is going to skyrocket. Both the logistics problem and the supply chain problem will have to be addressed with immediate effect. As regards inflation, it is another problem that can be dealt with at a later date.
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